Wasteland Exodus
by SaiyanEpicness
Summary: When I came out of Vault 101 to find Dad, I thought I could look in the face of this new, barren world and laugh. But I couldn't have been more wrong. And I'm pretty sure it's not every day the average Wastelander has to travel the capitol while dealing with a mysterious, superhuman mutation. But at least I get to do it while driving a certain white-suited aristocrat insane!
1. Chapter 1- Disorder

_**Chapter One: Disorder**_

* * *

**It's what the summary says; basically another Lone Wanderer fanfic. But things happen in this story that are different than the others. Read and you'll find out. (And please no flaming! I'm a rookie for goodness sake.) Anyway, Fallout belongs to Bethesda, and I only own my character. P.S. Sorry if I suck at being funny. All I'm doing in this chapter is trying to put emphasis on my OC's personality, especially her irritation and slight immaturity. Hope you enjoy! (Warning: the chapter titles may be a bit cliche.)**

* * *

Just another "beautiful" day in the Capital Wasteland of Washington D.C. Well, if by "beautiful" you mean that not only is this place an absolute bleak, barren eyesore complete with giant rocks, brown sticks that used to be trees, overturned vehicles, disgusting beasts and psychotic people who wanna rip your heart out and quite possibly eat it, and the occasional radiation puddle, but also the prick aristocrat behind you won't stop complaining about getting his suit dirty or the fact that I "ruined all his weeks of waiting and watching", then yes, it _is_ quite "beautiful". Sigh.

My "partner" and I were constanly trudging over rocks, a Chinese assault rifle on my back and a scoped .44 magnum at his side. We were headed to Smith Casey's garage in the hopes of finding my father at Vault 112, and I'd taken some serious consideration to just hooking myself in the face with my Power Fist or slashing my "partner's" head off with my Chinese Officer's Sword; I was getting UBER freaking irritated with each passing second of Mister Burke's complaining!

"...And then _you_ had to come in and ruin everything. All I wanted to do was pave the way towards progress, but you had to be an impudent little saint and crush my plans," he trudged on. Trying to keep my composure from looking pissed off and pretend I hadn't been paying attention, I kept walking and asked casually, "And _why_ exactly are you complaining to me about this?"

"Well, of course, it _was_ your fault, Xodia. Not to mention you're the one who demanded I come along. This is part of the deal. You get my services, and you have to listen to me ramble and complain." I stopped abruptly and sharply inhaled, clenching my fists. I just couldn't take it anymore! Who did this asshole think he was?! "Oh, no," I started, turning towards Burke as he stopped walking. I growled at him_, "_Listen here, creepo! I'm the one who decides what you do! You're the one who tried to have me killed, I spared your life twice, and you still have a debt to pay to me! So I'm the one who calls the shots around here! Got that?!"

Burke stared at me angrily for a second, his hand reaching toward his gun, and I was about to scoff. _Hmph. Go ahead. I dare you._ Then he put his hand down and chuckled. I narrowed my eyes_. "_Something funny?" I snarled. "You," he answered. "You're not half bad, girl. But I do only mean that half." _Huh? Does that even make sense?_ "What's _that_ supposed to mean?" I demanded. Grinning, he crossed his arms and replied, "Well, let me put it in a way that_ you _can understand. You'd be growing on me...if you weren't such a bitch." ...I kept looking at his smug, casual face, my eyes narrowed and my teeth slightly baring, unsure about what to say next.

Then I put my hands on hips. "Well, at least I don't look like some poser." "I beg your pardon..." "You, trying to look all tough and dignified in that white suit and fedora. You look like one of those gangsters from the old 1900's. You know, the ones that hang out in bars, smoking cigars and flipping coins." Truthfully, I actually loved the whole professional, suited gangster theme, but there was no way I was letting _him_ know that! Burke scoffed back, "Well, at least my hair doesn't look like a bottle of Nuka Cola Quantum." "Well, at least my breath doesn't smell like whiskey!" He was silent for a second. Then he leaned closer and softened his voice. "Well, at least _I _don't have _scales._"

I gasped in shock. I growled again, baring my teeth, and shouted, "You take that back!" When all he did was look at me with a smug, satisfied grin, I snapped and grasped his throat, feeling the different patterns on my scales glowing a radiant, seafoam green.

* * *

Okay, time out. I've confused you enough. First things first, my name is Xodia, pronounced with a "Z" (Like Exodia from Yugioh, just take out the "e"). And this is currently my life in the Capital Wasteland. Those of you not familiar with my life as the Lone Wanderer, you're probably wondering a few things. Like why I'm calling Washington D.C. the Capital Wasteland, why we're walking places instead of just driving, why we're carrying weapons, what on Earth a Powerfist and a Nuka Cola Quantum are, what the talk is about radiation puddles and beasts and killers and why we're going to look for some vault. And those of you who do know most of what I'm talking about, you're probably wondering why on Earth I'm traveling with Mister Burke! (Though you probably don't have to ask why we're not getting along so well.)

And then there's probably some other questions, like "Why is my hair suspiciously the same color as Nuka Cola Quantum," and "Why do the heck do I have... scales?" Yes, I'm human. And, no, they don't cover my entire body. Just my arms and torso. Ahem, anyway...there are quite a few things to explain. Guess I should start from the top. I'm sure a lot of people already know this, but to recap, it all sort of started when I left the vault my people had _somehow_ been living in for 200 years straight, just to look for my father who'd made a mess of things by leaving. The_ one_ good thing that came out of it: the absolute end of my life's boredom. Then again, is it better to be bored in a safe Vault, or to have fun in a dangerous Wasteland?

* * *

**Hope you liked the first chapter! I know it seems a little confusing and thrown together, but it gets better, promise! Anyway, please review! One more thing: there may be a quite a bit of detail in the story, on the off chance there are people reading it that don't know Fallout very well. (Plus if I ever send this into a fanfiction writing contest, the rules say that the characters and in-game stuff have to be descriptive. xD)**


	2. Chapter 2- Awake Into Confusion

**Chapter Two: Awake Into Confusion**

* * *

**Here's chapter 2. It basically consists mostly of flashbacks from how Xodia escapes the Vault. That's all I have to say, so please RXR!**

The light nearly blinded me as I opened the door and walked out of the tunnel. I squinted my eyes and turned my head slightly, thinking, _So this is natural light, huh... _Having lived in a vault for the whole 19 years of my life, the only sunlight I'd ever seen was artificial. So if this was my first time ever seeing real sunlight, I might as well enjoy it.

I stepped fully out of the tunnel, letting the door close behind me, and opened my eyes. For a few seconds, there was nothing but white light all around me, through me, as if I was being born. Or perhaps reborn into this new, unknown world. Then the light slowly started to fade, and my eyes were met with a vison beyond imagination. I gasped inaudibly, walking to the edge of the small rock face and staring out at the world in front of me. I'd heard so many stories about it, I'd expected to see something like this, but expecting and seeing were two different things.

It was, in fact, a wasteland. Barren and brown, full of bleak, rocky hills and rock faces, and there were no real plants anywhere. Only patches of dead grass and trees here and there, with the memories of being plants at some point. I saw a few clattered setttlements scattered across the horizon, but I needed to find the closest one and head for it. I looked back at the door that lead to the tunnel to Vault 101, then looked up at the cliff it was hidden under.

I looked down at myself and back at the horizon, which was cloudless with a bleak, almost greenish sky. I was wearing a standard blue Vault 101 jumpsuit, sleek black combat boots, fingerless black gloves, and a black leather jacket with the sleeves cuffed up to the elbows and snakes on the back of it, the Tunnel Snakes' jacket I'd gotten from Butch Deloria for helping him and his mother. My hair was pitch black with choppy bangs covering my eyes. It was long, going past my shoulder blades, so I put it up in a messy bun, or "Wendy the Welder" hairstyle, to get it out of the way.

Honestly, I thought being out of the vault for the first time would affect me more. I'd heard stories about how people from other vaults who'd come out for the first time usually got agoraphobia and fear of strangers and usually didn't know how to survive worth crap. I was usually indifferent to being cooped up in a vault my whole life, but now that I was out here, I actually liked the wide open spaces, no matter how barren it was. There was plenty of room to roam; I had to fight the urge to walk everywhere just for travelings' sake. But I knew I couldn't do that. I had a mission to find my father.

I decided to climb the rock face to find the nearest settlement, and I futilly tried to get my mind off my little..."exodusting" from the vault. But it wasn't my fault; I was forced out of there by that overcontrolling Overseer- for no reason! And if there was anyone to blame, it was probably my dad for leaving the vault. But I didn't want to place the blame on him. Not until I at least found out why he left. Then I would decide whether or not I'd forgive him...

* * *

Flashback One

"Wake up! Wake up! Please, you have to wake up!" I felt myself being moved into an upright position and realized someone was shaking my shoulders. I slowly started opening my eyes from my sleep and saw a familiar girl around my age, with tan skin and short, dark hair. Amata Almodovar, my best friend since infanthood...and the daughter of the Overseer who basically ruled our Vault.

Me (groggily): Amata? Ugh, this better be important...

Amata: It is! You HAVE to listen to me, Xoey!

My name was Xodia Field. As mentioned before, it's pronounced with a "Z". Amata was calling me by the name I went by mostly my whole life. People couldn't pronounce "Xodia" when we were younger, so I shortened it to "Xodi". Then in time, it turned to "Xoey" and I'd been using that ever since. (Of course, it's pronounce "Zoey".)

Me (still groggy): What is it?

Amata: You have to hurry up! My father's men are looking for you! Your dad just got up and left the Vault! He's gone!

Me (finally alert): That's impossible! That door's been sealed for 200 years! Why would he even go?!

Amata: That's what _I _thought! But he opened it and he walked out! Radroaches got in and are attacking everyone, my father's furious, his guards killed Jonas, and now they're coming for you!

Jonas was my dad's best friend. They were both basically the geniuses of the Vault.

Me: Jonas...Why are the even after me? What did _I _do?! What's even going on here?

Amata: I don't know. And...you really didn't know? I thought...I just assumed your dad told you. Maybe Jonas was supposed to give you a note or something...

Me: Look, let's quicken the pace a little. I'm getting out of the Vault to find my dad, and you're going to help me.

Amata: That's exactly what I had in mind. Here, these are the codes to my dad's computer. I'm sure you can access the Vault door from there. And take this .10 mm pistol I got from my father's office.

Me: Thanks. I'll be sure to use it if I run into your father's goons.

Amata: I hope you're joking. Now just hurry up! I'll try to meet you at the entrance. Good luck!

* * *

I remebered finding the holotape from my dad on Jonas's dead body, but I didn't get the chance to listen to it yet. The whole Vault had been in shambles and wreckage, the guards had killed many people in a panic, some of the adults blamed me and my father for what happened. Why was_ I _getting the balme, anyway, just for what my dad did? And after everything I'd done for the Vault. Not ot mention even helping Butch and his mother when the radroaches got in! And he'd made mey life miserable in Vault 101!

* * *

Flashback Two

Butch: Thank goodness! Please, you gotta help me, Xoey! My mom's trapped in there with the radroaches!

Me: Asking me for help, huh? If only you knew what the word "irony" meant. I mean, you and your worthless Tunnel Snake gang try to beat me up our whole lives, even though I've kicked your asses twice already, and now you're asking me to help...

Butch: Yeah, yeah, I get it! I'm sorry about all that, but it's my mother. You can't just leave her in there!

Me: Fine, but I'll do it for your mother, not for you.

Butch: Sure. Just hurry!

I ended up taking a wooden baseball bat to five radroaches (mutated cockroaches the size of cats), spewing bug guts all over the room. But they were still thankful for me having helped them.

Butch: We did it! My mom's gonna be okay!

Me: What do you mean "we"?

Butch: Whatever, just, thanks man! You're the best friend I ever had! Here, I want you to have my Tunnel Snakes jacket. If you ever need anything, just let me know!

* * *

That was the _good_ memory of escaping. The bad one, and the _worst_ one,... was sitting there watching the Overseer beat his own daughter. Well, technically Officer Mack did it with a police baton, but it was still under the Overseer's order's. I remembered crouching under the window, trying to sneak past his room to his office, when I heard Amata yell. I remembered peeking through the window and seeing Amata in a chair while father ordered Officer Mack to beat her.

* * *

Flashback Three

Amata: Please, stop!

Overseer: Amata, honey, Officer Mack may enjoy this, but I don't. Just tell us where your friend and we can stop this.

Amata: You're sick, daddy! And I can't tell you!

Overseer: Do it again, Mack.

I snapped my eyes shut as Mack brought the police baton across her face again, and for a moment, I was afraid my wooden bat would break from me clenching it so hard out of hatred. I admired Amata's bravery, but she was being beaten, for crying out loud! To protect _me_, nonetheless. And what was _I_ doing? Sitting here like a coward, that's what!

Amata: No!

Overseer: Please, honey. Just tell us where she is so we can _talk_ to her.

Again she refused, and again Mack hit her. At that moment, I'd started to pick the lock on the door, and waited for Officer Mack to notice the sound and open it. As he peeked his head into the hall, I slammed my bat on him, seeing the blood spray out of his mouth before he dropped like a stone; I hadn't hit his head. I'd hit his neck. But I knocked him in the head a second after, just so he wouldn't suffer. While Amata looked shocked at us, I fully stepped into the room and turned to the Overseer, who was pointing a .32 pistol at me.

Overseer: I certainly hope you're here to turn yourself in.

Me (sarcastically): Yeah, that's _exactly_ what I'm here for.

Right then I slammed the bat into his hand, knocking the gun away and breaking a few of his bones in the process. My next target was his head, and he dropped out cold. Then Amata recovered from her shock, and shot up to hug me, the marks on her face already turning into bruises.

Amata: Thank you so much, Xoey! Who knows what my father would've done...

Me: I'm sorry I didn't help you sooner. I was just afraid to blow my cover.

Amata: I understand. All that matters is that you have to get out of here.

Me: But what about your father? When he wakes up, who knows what he's gonna do when he finds out you helped me escape?

Amata: Don't worry about me. I can take care of my dad, but you have to find yours.

Me: ...Alright. Let's go, then.

* * *

I remembered the screeching sound of metal against metal as the massive, gear shaped vault door closed shut in front of my eyes. I'd wanted Amata to come with me, but she'd said that whatever happened in the vault could never be as dangerous as what I'd face on the outside. And she felt she had to get her father and the rest of the vault back in order. So now, until I found my dad, I'd most likely be alone in this.

I climbed to the top of the rock face and took another look at the horizon. I couldn't help but go over the history of this place. This used to be Washington D.C., the capital city of the U.S.A The year had been 2077, and the world had basically regressed into somewhat of a 1950's lifestyle. Except for the unbelievable technology, servant robots, energy weapons, airships, all that cliche` stuff. And all of it, save the cars and cell phones, somehow managed to follow us into the future even after the bombs dropped. The nuclear war had thrown the world into a near apocalypse, wiped out basically all form of government, turning the planet into a wasteland with virtually no plants, filling any drinkable water with radiation, and even mutated all the animals except the dogs. That was 200 years ago, and now I was coming out of the only known inhabited vault left. When word of the bombs spread, people all over the country took refuge in bomb shelters called Vaults, which were suspiciously already conveniently made by Vault-Tec before the bombs dropped, and selected people stayed in them during the apocalypse. As far as we know, everyone else came out of their vaults a long time ago. Mine, Vault 101, was the only one with people who stayed. We'd been led to believe that the door had been permanently broken, keeping us locked in forever.

But my beliefs in that accusation had been thrown straight through the window now that I was on the outside. I put my hand to my forehead and closed my eyes. "You knew the whole time. Didn't you, dad..." I opened my eyes, and saw something I noticed before - a small neighborhood a little ways north of the rock face. Most of the houses were utterly destroyed or completely boarded up, but there was one with boarded windows and a clean looking door that was completely intact. _Someone's got to be living in that house, _I thought. _Might as well ask them if they've seen Dad come through here. _I wanted to find him as quickly as possible. I had to know the truth, about whether the vault was really locked for 200 years or not. He was the only one who knew, and if I ever wanted to know the truth about my entire life, I had to find him _now_. I started to climb down and head for the house.

* * *

**Please leave a review if the second chapter kept you interested! Of course, nothing's really happening in the game yet... Once again, I own nothing. Except Xodia. And what happens to her later in the story...Anyway, next chapter: Xodia meets someone who's gonna be EXTREMELY important to this story! So, enjoy!**


	3. Chapter 3- Creepo From The Bar

**This is the chapter where the story finally somewhat takes off, given that Xodia actually enters the game story now. She may seem a little clueless, but I'm trying to make it kind of realistic since she's just come out of the Vault and doesn't know much about the Wasteland. And she finally meets a very important person now. I'm sure you know who it is if you read the first chapter. Please RXR!**

* * *

**Chapter Three: Creepo From The Bar**

I didn't get an answer from the first few knocks, and habit's a hard thing to break when you've been able to go anywhere you wanted in the Vault. That coupled with the fact that there might not have been anyone living in the house anyway probably justified my reason for just walking right in. "Who the hell are you?! Did Moriarty send you?" I was stopped by a middle aged woman with a slightly raspy voice, a soft face, and a broad nose. She was wearing a faded greenish hoody, grimy white capris, and faded black boots. Her hair was blonde, wavy, and went slightly past her shoulders; it looked grimy and greasy, like it hadn't been washed in awhile. _Then again, do they even have showers out here?_

I stood there looking confused at the woman. "Who's Moriarty? I'm just passing through."

"Don't play dumb. Moriarty? Runs the saloon in Megaton? That sack of shit is convinced I'm some crazy junkie who stole money from him."

"Okay, just tell me your side of the story, then."

So the woman, whose name turned out to be Silver, told me about how she worked in a town called Megaton doing "favors" for guys, but she got sick of it and decided to take her money and leave town. "Even slept with the pig to seal the deal," she said. "But come the next morning, he says I can't leave. So I took my money and bolted. Now he's branded me a thief and a junkie and sent his cronies after me. Guess I should find a new hiding place."

_Huh. First person I meet outside the Vault and she's an ex-hooker with a bad attitude. Then again, maybe I can help her._ "Look, how about you give me some of the money and I'll tell him you're gone," I suggested, and she looked surprised. "Wow. You'd really do that for me? I didn't think anyone cared so much. Thanks, and here you go." She handed 250...bottle caps. I looked down at them confused before pocketing them, thinking, I_s this what they use for money out here? _Then remembering what I came here for, I asked, "Hey, have you seen a man come through here? Middle aged, wearing a jumpsuit like mine?"

"Oh yeah, I saw a guy like that. In fact, he was actually headed towards Megaton."

"So where is this Megaton place, anyway?"

"The town with the metal walls just east of here. Dunno how you missed it."

I looked out the one window that wasn't boarded up, and sure enough, I saw giant metal walls east of the house. I remembered seeing it from the rock face. "So that giant hunk of metal is a town?" I said to myself. Then I realized the town was barely even 200 feet from here. I looked back to Silver and criticized, "You're hiding out from a guy in Megaton and you choose your hiding place right down the road from it?"

"Yeah, I guess it wasn't my best idea," she agreed, slightly depressed. I thanked her for the help anyway and started to head for Megaton. Though I barely got halfway there before I was attacked by two alrge, mutated mole rats. "Gah!" I took out my baseball bat and slammed it on one of them. It broke the Mole Rat's neck, but it also broke my bat in half. "Crap!" I dropped the bat and took out the police baton I got from one of the Vault 101 guards and slammed it into the Mole Rat's teeth, then into the side of it's head.

Realizing I probably wasn't well equipped, I sat down on a rock and laid my "weapons" out in front of me. I had...a police baton, a .10mm pistol, a wooden baseball bat (broken in half, thanks to my little fiasco with the Mole Rats), and a BB gun with only 15 BBs left in it. I sighed, and said to myself sarcastically, "Gee, real threatening." Not wanting anyone to see my embarrassing "arsenal", I ditched the baseball bat and stored the BB gun in the PIP-boy 3000 (personal information processor) attatched to my left arm. The awesome thing about the PIP-boy (which everyone in the Vault got at age 10)? Not only could it map areas and listen to radio, but it could also store materials inside it, hardly limited by the objects' size. It would dematerialize an object and store it in the PIP-boy in bytes, then you could press a button and have it rematerialize as if nothing had happened. It was definitely my favorite feature!

I holstered the gun to my left side and the police baton to my right side, and headed up the hill to Megaton. Sure enough, a tick mark labelled Megaton appeared on my PIP-boy map, and the looming metal walls towered over me as I was greeted by a Protectron robot. "Howdy, partner. Welcome to Megaton," the Protectron greeted in a robotic, monotone voice, and it opened the giant steel doors for me. I walked in, and was greeted with an amazing sight; not only were there as many people as here as there were in the Vault, if not more, but there were towering strings of apartment-looking complexes made out of various twisted metal parts, built around a crater and protected by the surrounding metal walls. It would've been an awesome sight if there was grass instead of rocks and dirts and a blue sky instead of a greenish gray one.

There was a hill leading down into the crater, and a dark-skinned man wearing a sleek, brown leather trench coat, a cowboy hat, and a rifle on a his back walked up it and confronted me. "Well, I know you're not from Megaton. The name's Lucas Simms, town sheriff and mayor when the need arises," he greeted in a smooth, deep voice with a slightly Southern accent. He continued, "I don't know what it is, but I like you, girl. Something tells me you're alright. So, welcome to Megaton. Just holler if you need something."

"Thank you, Sheriff," I responded. At least the second person I'd met outside the Vault was decent. I contemplated about whether to put on the tough girl routine or to just play nice, when I looked down into the crater. And I was almost pretty sure I'd found out why the town was called Megaton. Raising my eyebrows, I leaned to the sheriff and asked quietly, "You see the gigantic atomic bomb, too, right?"

"Yeah. The town was built around it quite some time ago," he answered, confirming that I wasn't out of my mind. He went on, "Everyone thinks that if it hasn't gone off by now, it probably won't ever go off. _I _respectfully disagree." I continued to stare at the bomb, thinking this a potentially perfect test of my skills and a great way to help these people. When everyone in the Vault was 16, we all had to take a test that would determine what our responsibility in the Vault would be. I happened to be a natural expert when it came to explosives, so my job in the Vault turned out to be maintenance of the Vault generator. It's actually more fun than it sounds. "You know, Sheriff, I'm not that bad with explosives. I can see about disarming that bomb for you."

"You'd really do that? Alright. There'll be a hundred caps in it for you if you can disarm it."

"Um, it's an atomic bomb. Thinkin' 500?"

"Sorry, we ain't exactly rolling in cash down here. But for you, I'll raise it to 200."

"Alright. I'll see what I can do. By the way, have you seen a middle aged guy wearing a jumpsuit come through here?"

"Come to think of it, I do recall seeing a guy like that. Was headed up to the saloon. Talk to Colin Moriarty about it. Watch out, though. Moriarty's trouble." _Yeah, Silver already filled me in on him, _I thought, and headed up the metal ramps to Moriarty's Saloon, still taken by how cool the town looked. _I could definitely get used to a place like this. _I opened the door to the saloon half expecting the music to abruptly stop playing while everyone silently turned around to stare at me like in those old-timey, cliche Western movies. Well, lucky for me that didn't happen, but people still stoppend to look at me for a second, still making me uncomfortable. Apparently they didn't get new people around here all that often.

I was pretty sure not many people thought this, but the bar somehow seemed to look better to me than the one in the Vault.I had a decent amount of caps; I decided to sit down for a second to get a drink. I walked over to the bar stools, and for a second my gaze caught the eyes of someone sitting in a corner at the right side of the bar. He was sitting by himself, and he looked to be only a few years older than me. He was wearing a white business suit (obviously he managed to stand out from the rest of the people, almost like me), a black tie, a brown pre-war hat, a pair of tortishell sunglasses, and a silenced .10mm pistol holstered to his side. He reminded me of those old pre-war movies about gangsters and bars and stuff, but besides the suit, there was something very...off about him. I quickly turned my gaze away from him and sat on one of the bar stools. A man in a plain T-shirt and cargo pants turned to me and greeted in an extremely raspy voice, "The name's Gob. Can I get you anything?"And I was absolutely caught off guard by his face; there was no skin on it, only rotten-looking muscles. And he hardly had any hair. "Gah! Fuck-" I began, but I quickly shook my head and tried not to be rude.

"Um...hi," I tried again, probably failing miserably. "You don't have to pretend for my sake," he replied. "Haven't you ever seen a Ghoul before?"

"Besides those Feral Ghouls I've seen pictures of? No, not where I came from. What's a Ghoul?"

"Well, not all of us got to hole up in a nice, cushy Vault when the bombs dropped. Some of us were left out here and got hit with a blast of heat and radiation, and... well, let's just say it's not real good on the face. Ghouls live a lot longer than humans do. Some of us were even around when the bombs dropped." That actually really got my attention. I'd always been real interested in learning about pre- and during-war stuff. "Were _you_ there when they did?" "Sorry, outta luck," Gob answered. "To be honest, I'm surprised you're even talking to me. Most people smack me around for even looking them in they eye."

"Well, I don't mind. It's not _your _fault what happened to you."

"Wow. You're not half bad for a smoothskin. So, anything I can do for ya?"

"Yeah. have you seen a middle aged guy in a jumpsuit come through here"

"I do remember seeing a guy like that talking to Moriarty. But I can't tell you anything about it. Moriarty wouldn't be too happy about it."

"Look, I really need to know. Can't you tell me," I demanded.

"Sorry. Moriarty'll take it out on my pay if I do," he replied. And suddenly my temper snapped. I was tired of going on this stupid wild goose chase! I slammed my hands on the counter and growled, "Listen, you rotting piece of shit! You'd better tell me anything you know, or a pay deduction will be the least of your problems!" He was silent, taken aback by my outburst of anger, and I was sure Gob was just as surprised as I was (who would have thought I could be so badass?). And probably so was everyone else in the bar, who'd stop to fully stare at me. Except for that suited man in the corner, who I noticed was glancing my direction with interest instead of staring at me full front like the others. _Who _is_ that guy, _I thought, as everyone turned their heads back in a few seconds, and Gob made his voice firmer. "Look, I really can't tell you. Talk to Moriarty about it." I loosened my composure a little. "Fine," I replied, my voice demanding and serious. "But don't think I'm gonna give you special pity treatment just because you're a Ghoul. I'm gonna treat you just as I would anyone else in the Wasteland."

Gob actually grinned at that. "And _that_...," he began, getting out a familiar looking bottle. He continued, "...is why you are officially my favorite customer. Here, on the house." He gave me the bottle, and I thanked him with joy. He'd handed me a Nuka Cola, my favorite drink in the entire world! My dad and I always drank them together when I was growing up. On some rare occasions, he'd even sneak us a special Nuka Cola Quantum (an enhanced and glowing version of Nuka Cola) from the Overseer's office, and we'd share it. I was virtually glowing as I gulped half the bottle in one fell swoop, and pocketed the bottle cap. I smiled at Gob, then went to the back room to find Moriarty.

* * *

Moriarty wasn't as bad as I thought he'd be, but he was still an lousy square. But at least he'd had a nice Irish accent. He'd greeted me, "The name's Moriarty. Welcome to Moriarty's saloon," and blah blah blah. I'd sort of zoned out after he'd called it his little slice of heaven. My attention only snapped to him when I'd asked him about my father, and he'd replied, "My gosh, it's you. The little baby girl all grown up. Persistent little flower, ain't ya, then and now it would seem. it's been a long time, kid." I'd been in shock, pushing that my father and I had been born in Vault 101, that the Vault had been sealed for 200 years, and he'd told me that right, after I'd been born (right after my mother had died giving birth to me), he and his Brotherhood Of Steel friend brought me to the Saloon and stayed for the night in the saloon's hotel until bringing me to Vault 101. So not only had the Vault NOT been sealed for 200 years straight, but my father and I had also not been born in the Vault, despite the Overseer's foolish ranting about how "We're born in the Vault, we live in the Vault, and we die in the Vault." _How could Dad have kept all this secret from me? He is so not going to hear the end of this!,_ I'd thought. There were so many questions I had to ask him, it'd only made me want to find him even more. Then Moriarty had gone so far as to try as to sell me information; I give him 100 caps and he tell me where my father is. I'd had the caps for it, but there was no way I'd give him the caps I'd gotten from Silver after all the trouble she'd gone through with him. (After the conversation, I'd actually very discreetly told him Silver was gone, so at least I hadn't forgotten about her.)

I'd been stuck being mad at Moriarty and wondering what to do, when that suited man in the corner had raised his voice a little and offered to pay it on my behalf. As long as it was money, Moriarty hadn't minded. The mysterious man hadn't even gotten up from his seat, so Moriarty collected the caps from him. While I was staring at the man in curiosity and confusion, wondering what the heck had just happened, Moriarty had went on to tell me that my father had come through the saloon, then went off to the Galaxy News Radio building to find a DJ named Three Dog. (I'd had a habit of always keeping my PIP-boy radio on, so I'd heard a bit of GNR on the way to Megaton, and even in the saloon, despite how much static the reception had. Three Dog actually sounded pretty cool.)

So now I was headed out the door and to the map coordinates Moriarty had given me. I was about to open the door, when I noticed soemone waving a hand in my direction. I glanced to that corner in the bar, and once again I locked eyes with that suited man. He was motioning for me to come over there. Part of me had actually been hoping for that; I was very curious as to who that man was. But I kept my guard fully up and walked over there, wound up like a taut rubber band. (I had a right to keep my guard up; it was getting pretty late, and most of the people had already left. I was pretty alone right now, not to mention wondering exactly how long I'd been in Megaton.)

"You're...that man from before," I started, not sure whether to thank him. "Yes," he replied, a small, smug smile growing on his face, and a calm and casual, yet icey snake voice that seemed to almost make me shudder in discomfort. "My, my. Just when I had started to give up hope. My dear girl, I am very happy to make your aquaintance. I am Mister Burke." My smart-aleck mode turned on, and I automatically summed this guy up. "Oh, yes. What girl can forget her first "Creepo at the bar" moment?"

"Oh no, I'm merely here on business. And you... well, you're not a member of this putrescent cesspool. You have no ties to this town, and therefore couldn't care less about the future of this place. That makes you a rather valuable individual."

"Dare I ask? If you got a point, make it."

"Ahem. Very well. The town of Megaton is...obsolete. The last vestige of a cobbled, desperate past. It and the people who live here need to...go away. And you're going to see to it that they do."

I thought about the bomb in the middle of town, and instinctively said, "Oh boy, I know where this is going."

"Yes. The bomb for which this town is named for may not look it, but it is still active and very much deadly. All it needs is a little...motivation. I have in my possession a Fusion Pulse Charge. Once attached to the bomb, it will be detonated by you at a secure location. I thought you would be even more perfect for he job, being such a good explosives expert..."

"You were eavesdropping?" I asked angrily. "Creep."

"Perhaps, but it's easy money, my friend. My boss is a very generous man, and if caps and luxury are what you are after, he would be more than happy to supply it. My proposition is 100 caps."

"You have got to be kidding me..." I muttered, and put a hand to my forehead in frustration. "I take it you need some time to think about it?" He asked. I turned around and leaned against the wall, thinking. _What do I do now? I don't care about this place, but I can't just kill these people...Then again, I could upgrade my speech skills some more. Let's see just how badass I can sound when I want to. _I turned my head back to Mister Burke, and exclaimed, "I have a little "proposition" for _you. _Care to hear?"

"Hm. By all means, enlighten me." I fully faced him and grinned. "Listen, you're a silly man for thinking I'd destroy an entire town for only 100 caps. You're going to pay 500...and like it."

"Hmm...yes, I do believe I can arrange that. I must admit...I don't know what it is about you, but I find you...enchanting."

"You find me what?" I asked quickly, caught off guard. He ignored me, and continued, "Attach the Fusion Pulse Charge to the bomb, then meet me at Tenpenny Tower. There I will show you what true power is." He told me the coordinates and I saved them in my PIP-boy map, though I saw him eyeing my PIP-boy in suspicion and decided not to tell him where I got it. He finished, "Do this for me, and you have no idea how far my gratitude will reach." I raised one eyebrow weirdly, and was suddenly uncomfortable, really REALLY uncomfortable. "Uh-huh...listen, this "job" may take awhile. I have some very important things to do before this, and I'm gonna be gone awhile."

"Then don't let me keep you."

"Alright. One more thing, if this boss of yours wants you to destroy Megaton, why don't you do it yourself? You _are_ the evil minion, aren't you?"

"Ahem. I must advise you to speak more civilly. I need someone like you to carry out this task; I'm far too busy. I have pressing "evil minion" things to do." I chuckled at the "evil minion things" part; something about him saying it was kind of funny. I nodded and started to walk away, when he spoke up again. "By the way, I didn't quite get your name." I was about to say Xoey, but then I realized how weak it must have sounded in the Capital Wasteland; I had to act tough, look tough, and sound tough. Besides, it was a new beginning; time for a change after 19 years.

"Xodia," I told him. "My name is Xodia, with an "x". "Xodia. Interesting." Burke thought about it for a second, and said, "It's been a pleasure meeting you. I look forward to our next encounter." I nodded and walked out of the bar, not sure what else to say to him. Of course, I really didn't know what I would do. Burke was willing to pay me more, but Simms was nice, and these people were innocent; well, as far as I knew. I decided to mull over the decision some other time; right now, all I was focused on was finding my father at Galaxy News Radio. But I still couldn't get Mister Burke's creepy voice out of my head, creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy! I remembered his words. _Do this for me, and you have no idea how far my gratitude will reach. _I shuddered, and exclaimed to myself, "Freaked me the fuck out!"

* * *

**Hope you like chapter 3! Yeah, "creepy" and "creepo from the bar" is gonna be used to describe Mister Burke a lot in this story. Mainly because that's exactly how I felt when I first played the game and met him. And in this story, Burke isn't as he seems. His "darker side" is soon to be revealed... Anyway, please review!**


	4. Chapter 4- Nerves Of Steel

**_Chapter 4: Nerves of Steel_**

**Here's where Xodia has a few firsts; her first encounter with Super Mutants, her first encounter with Raiders, and her first time meeting the Brotherhood of Steel. It's basically going to be an overall of most of the stuff that happens on the Lone Wanderer's way to GNR studios, but with a few interesting tweaks. Enjoy!**

* * *

I adjusted the armored Vault 101 suit I'd gotten from Moira Brown at Megaton's Craterside Supply (_still_ didn't have a straight answer as to how she'd come across it) and walked past the Super Duper Mart. I remembered talking to Moira, a lady with cherry red hair in a Welder messy bun and an almost-too-cheery personality. She was creepy, but at least she was nice. She'd given me the vault suit for free, then asked me to tell her what life was like in the vault. I'd told her that it was peaceful, but unrewarding; it was safe, but there was nothing fulfilling about life in the Vault. Then she'd said that'd be great for the foreword and asked me to help her with a Wasteland Survival Guide, but I told her I'd have to take a raincheck on it to look for my father. But she'd also asked me if I could at least come back with advanced radiation poisoning so she could do some research on it and come up with a concoction to heal me of it. I told her I'd see what I could do, and left Megaton.

Right now, I was mentally smacking myself on the head, trying not to think about Mister Burke's offer. '_If it's caps and luxury you want, we'd be more than happy to oblige.'_ _Ugh, I'm not actually going to listen to him...am I? I'm not _that_ stupid. Right?_ I stopped by a water hydrant in front of the Super Duper Mart and took several drinks of water despite the radiation, and found a dead Ghoul near the doors. He had a Chinese jumpsuit on and a Chinese Officer's Sword holstered to his side, and I remembered the war between America and China to liberate Alaska from the Chinese, right before the apocalypse. He must have been there when the bombs dropped. I looked at the jumpsuit he had on, and I actually really liked it. It was dirty, but still wearable. Not to mention kinda fashionable. _I don't think anyone would mind if I took it for myself,_ I thought, taking the jumpsuit and storing it in my PIP-boy, and holstering the sword to my side. I kept walking until I found myself at the rocky bank of a river that flowed between two buildings. The building on the other side had a statue of a man holding a giant sphere, and I realized that was the Metro Station I was headed for. I took a dose of Rad X I'd also gotten from Moira, bracing myself for radiation, and swam across the river.

But when I got to solid ground at the other side, I was confronted by 3 men and 2 women wearing weird metal outfits and carrying weapons; a lead pipe, a sword, a combat shotgun, a 10mm submachine gun, and frag grenades. _Who are these guys,_ I thought, when one of them yelled eagerly, "Hey Raiders, we got another one!" The "Raiders" held up their weapons and one of the girls yelled, "Kick ass!" _Uh oh._ I held up my pistol, but whatever battle was about to ensue was cut off by an extremely deep voice cackling maniacally. The six of us looked across the river and up at the building. On the ledge were bulking yellowish abominations of men wearing brown combat clothing and no shirts. Two of them were holding rifles while the leader was carrying a giant minigun- and pointing it at us!

"What _are_ those things?!" I asked in shock. "Super mutants, you idiot!" one of the Raiders answered, and one of the girls yelled, "Fuck this! Let's get outta here!" They started running, but they didn't get very far before being shot down by the lead Super Mutant, who maniacally shouted, "You lose!" Then they pointed their guns at me! "Crap!" Without thinking twice, I ran and jumped into the water, the bullets narrowly missing me. I held my breath and swam to deeper water while watching out for the constant barrage of bullets that pierced the water. The shooting stopped briefly as they ran out of bullets, and as they reloaded their guns, I popped my head out of the water, aimed my pistol, and shot twice at each of their heads. Each of the bullets hit their targets and made the Super Mutants drop their weapons, but they didn't die. They only grabbed their heads in pain as if all I'd done was throw bricks at them. _What the hell?!_ I stored the pistol in my PIP-boy, knowing it wouldn't do squat against the Super Mutants, and swam back underwater. _What am I gonna do now?, _I thought. Then I remembered that one of the dead Raiders had a handful of grenades.

_Well it's a suicide mission, but I might as well try,_ I thought, and swam back to the ledge where the Raiders had been shot down. I kept my torso above the water surface and held onto the ledge, fumbling with the grenade belt on the Raider's corpse. I got it off, but I had to duck back underwater to evade the bullets. _Wouldn't it be smarter for them to take turns shooting at me instead of doing it all at once? I suppose their giant muscles are supposed to make up for small brains. _It took me three tries, but I finally managed to get one of the grenades off. And while the Super Mutants were reloading again, I clung onto the ledge with one arm, pulled the pin with my teeth, and threw it at the Super Mutants. It exploded and wounded them, but it only killed one of them. On the bright side, while the other two tried to regain their composure from being wounded, the craziest idea popped into my head. Knowing I had to hurry, I grabbed the sword from the other Raider's corpse and lifted it up over my head. I had an extremely small window of opportunity while they got back on their feet and reloaded their guns. Thinking, _This is never going to work,_ I pulled my arm back and calculated the angle of trajectory just like my genius father had taught me, and I threw the sword at the lead Super Mutant.

The leader moved out of the way, but the blade of the sword still managed to find it's target in the center of the other Super Mutant's forehead, and he dropped to the ground dead. _Whoa, I can't believe that actually worked! _I thought, yelling, "ALL RIGHT!" and throwing my fist into the air. Though my moment of victory was short lived when the leader grabbed the minigun and pulled the trigger.

"Ha!" I yelled, realizing that not only was the weapon out of ammo, but it was broken anyway. Of course, there went my chance to ever use the weapon myself, but I was sure there'd come another time. Irritated, the Super Mutant yelled to the sky...and hurled the useless weapon my direction! I desperately tried to swim, but he'd thrown it so fast, and while I was underwater it landed right on top of me. Good news was that the water broke its fall, so I wasn't flattened like a pancake, but the impact still pushed me a good nine feet to the bottom of the water and made me stuck under the minigun. I struggled to get the heavy weapon off of me so I could get my head above water and at least out of the radiation, but it seemed running out of air along with the continuous ticking of my PIP-boy's Geiger Counter were the least of my troubles at the moment. My heart quickly sank as I heard a giant splash in the water, and I looked up to the surface to see the Super Mutant jump into the water and swim toward me with a sledgehammer!

Filled with adrenaline, I quickly pushed the minigun off of me and swam to the surface. I got my head above water and gasped in air, only to have my leg grabbed and get pulled back under. I quickly swam out of the way as the Super Mutant slammed the sledgehammer into the water and almost down on my head. I pushed myself out of the way as he did it again, and not thinking twice, I grabbed his arm with one hand and the sledgehammer with the other. So when he lifted it up again, he took me along with it. I breathed in air again as I was lifted above the surface, and going on reflex, I let go of his arm and kicked off of his head, jumping into the water behind him and swimming to land.

I got to land and ran back to wear the dead Raiders were in the hopes of getting that shotgun from one of them, but he Super Mutant was faster than he looked. When he got to me, he turned me around, grabbed me by the throat, and lifted me up off the ground. My hands were too small to wrap around his wrist, but I still held onto it for dear life, struggling futilly to get air into my lungs. My chest was burning, screaming for air, and my throat felt like it was going to break in half, but I realized no good was going to come out of me just being dangling helplessly from the Super Mutants grasp. So I forced myself with all my might to think rationally. I wrapped my arm around his wrist and used my other arm to reach my holster and pull out the Officer's sword I'd gotten from the dead Chinese Ghoul. With no time to waste, I lifted the sword up and brought it down onto the Super Mutant's shoulder. It barely made a dent into the giant muscles, but at least it drew blood and caused him pain. Enraged, he threw me against the wall and onto the stairs of the ledge. I rolled out of the way and avoided a sledgehammer to the face, then got up and roundhouse kicked him to the chest. He staggered back for a second, tried to hit me with the sledgehammer again.

I ducked then rolled out of the way. Then I started running to the dead Raiders to try and get the shotgun. He kept running after me and was just about to grab me before I dropped to my knees and yanked the shotgun out of the dead Raider's hands, then rolled onto my shoulder and pointed the gun up at the Super Mutant. I pulled the trigger, and the Super Mutant's torso erupted in a shower of blood, tissue, and shotgun shells. A gaping, bloody dent in his chest, he fell to his knees. He whispered in a dying, growling breath, "Not possible," and fell onto his face, dead. I sat upright and tried to catch my breath.

"I...I'm alive..." In between panting breaths, I started laughing out of relief. To think, I'd survived my first official fight to the death in the Wasteland. _I wonder how Dad survived all this. Then again, I guess he has experience. _Still basking in the glory of winning the fight, I slowly got up and bent over the water, drinking vigorously to get some energy back, my Geiger Counter telling me I was getting 9 rads per second from it, as well as my stomach, feeling moved around by the rads. I then walked toward the dead Raiders to collect their things. Between them I collected 50 bottle caps, two Stimpaks, a bottle of dirty water, a small container of Buffout, the combat shotgun, and the .10 mm submachine gun, and more than enough ammo to last me around a day. I'd even found a pair of spiked knuckles in perfect condition! _Hell yes! _I thought, instantly putting them on. _All mine,_ I thought grinning, and went to check what the Super Mutants had. On them, I found an assault rifle, two bottlecap mines, a frag grenade, and two pieces of Mole rat meat. The assault rifle was in poor condition, so I used parts from the other Super Mutant's rifle to repair it. I put the Raider's grenade holster around my waist and put my grenade in it. Then I holstered the sword and put the assault rifle on my back and stored the rest in my PIP-boy, then kept the Super Mutant's sledgehammer in my hands and walked back to the Metro station, continuing towards Galaxy News Radio. Of course, I then realized something. If I got this surprised and excited and proud for winning this little fight, chances are I was going to get eaten alive out here. Just sayin'.

* * *

"This is the idiot who ruined our ambush." I was currently being confronted by a man and two women in wearing bulky metal armor and carrying laser rifles. Apparently when I'd been attacked by four Super Mutants at 42nd street near a demolished elementary school, I'd actually blown the cover of a sneak attack by...whoever these knight guys were. Their leader, a woman with bright blonde hair in a Welder messy bun and sharp facial features, walked up to me and said sternly, "I don't know who you are, but you don't belong here. Look, our brothers at the Galaxy News Radio building have been overrun and we're headed there to back them up. You can tag along if you want, but just keep your head down and try not to do anything...stupid."

_Well, at least I'll have an escort to Galaxy News Radio. But..."_Uh, and _who_ the hell are you people?"

"I'm Sentinal Lyons of the Lyons Pride. With the Brotherhood of Steel." My eyes widened in recognition, and Moriarty's words rang throughout my head: Your father, his Brotherhood of Steel friend, and you. _Protectors of the Wasteland, perhaps?_ _No wonder Dad survived out here so easily. Speaking of Dad..._"You mentioned Galaxy News Radio? I have to talk to Three Dog there."

She nodded. "Galaxy News Radio is under our protection; it's sort of our port in the storm. But the Uglies have hit it pretty bad lately. So, if there are no more questions, we _really_ need to get going," she said forcefully. I could only guess the term "Uglies" meant the Super Mutants.

"Alright, let's go. Thanks for the help."

"Watch yourself out there." She nodded, and followed her as she went to join up with the rest of her team.

The girls' names were Sentinal Sarah Lyon and Initiate Reddin, and the guy's name was Knight Captain Colvin. When I walked up with Sentinal Lyons, Colvin asked in a surprised voice, "A _new_ recruit?"

Lyons responded, "No, just a drifter we picked up when we were battling the Uglies on 42nd."

Colvin greeted me, "Welcome! We're the Lyons Pride of the Brotherhood of Steel. Our brothers may seem gruff, but they will lay down their lives for you. Just let us know if you need anything."

"Thanks. I'm Xodia." I shook his hand, and I looked behind me as Reddin spoke up eagerly. "The Lyons Pride happens to be the most badass outfit in the entire Wasteland! Just observe." _Hm, eager to fight and new to the party. Sounds like me, _I thought, as I heard the running footsteps of Super Mutants turn the corner. While Reddin rolled around the corner and singlehandedly took on the Super Mutants (not bad for a rookie, I might add), I decided to stay out of the fighting so I could listen to the radio. The signal had been pretty much shit in Megaton, but I figured it'd be a lot better now that I was closer to the GNR building. And I quickly zoned out the fighting as I heard the DJ Three Dog say something pretty interesting.

"...so I've already told you guys that, not long ago, a man came out of Vault 101 and visited me. His name is James, real nice guy. But here's where it gets better! I've gotten a new report that _someone else_ has come out of that hole right after James! So what the hell's goin' on down there? Revolution? Vacation? Somebody fart? Your guess is as good as mine. Until next time..."

The sound of the radio was quickly interruppted by a loud gutteral yell. I looked up to see a Super Mutant hold a huge nail board above his head; I'd been so occupied with the radio that I'd absent-mindedly walked right into the fight! _Damn it! _I thought as I instinctively jumped up and roundhouse kicked the Super Mutant in the face. How did I do that, you ask? Well, let's just say I've had a little bit of experience with fighting in the Vault. Since the Super Mutant only had a melee weapon and no gun, I pretty much had the upper hand. I tightened my spiked knuckles and rolled out of the way as he swung again. Then I uppercutted him in the jaw and again in the stomach, enjoying getting his blood all over my hands. But Reddin decided to shoot him once in the head for me, and he fell to the ground. "Plenty to go around," she said proudly, and I replied, "Um, thanks?", but on the inside I was thinking, _I had that one covered, you trigger-happy bitch._

More Super Mutants came running out of the demolished school in front of us, all carrying hunting rifles. So I got out my new shotgun and blew two mutants' brains out, while Colvin took a massive black Super Sledge to their necks and Lyons and Reddin reduced the rest to laser-induced ashes. One more mutant shot from the ledge on the runied second floor of the building, and when he ran out of ammo, he took out a sledgehamer and jumped out of the building and onto the ground. We rolled out of the way as he started shooting; I was on the left side of the lot and Reddin was on the right side, and we started shooting at him together.

He came running towards Reddin, so she retreated back behind the corner and shot him while he was running near a wrecked car. One that still had gas in it apparently, because once her bullets bounced off it, it started catching fire. I took note of this and shouted to her, "Hey! You might not wanna be firing so close to the-" BOOM! My sentence was cut off as the car exploded in fire, debris, and a massive shockwave. The Super Mutant being right next to the car, he was killed instantly by the explosion. The rest of us were thrown backwards by the shockwave, and while the Brotherhood didn't suffer too much damage protected by their armor, I wasn't so lucky as I got thrown backward into a pile of debris and concrete as large as the building. Car debris slashed my arms and face, making me bleed and possibly giving me tetanus, and the wind was knocked out of me as my back hit the pile and then the ground. I struggled to get the air back into my lungs as I weakly rolled onto my hands and knees, and I felt something trickling down my face; my head was bleeding, and I definitely had a concussion. I shakily got to my feet as Colvin came over to help me up and wipe the blood off my head.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. Thanks." I grabbed my head and grumbled, "Ugh, trigger-happy jackass."

"Don't give her too much crap. She's new."

"Well, I can see that."

Once I got my strength back, we continued to the Galaxy News Radio building plaza, where we fought an entire army of Super Mutants with Paladin Vargas and a whole bunch of other Brotherhood of Steel members. Well, technically 7 or 8 Super Mutants wasn't really an army, but they certainly fought like one. It was an absolute onslaught. For them, anyway. None of _us_ died, except for one of the knights, but he was already dead before we got there. After it was all done, we were surrounded by dead Super Mutants, blood, and weapons that no one was stopping me from taking. I found myself a hunting rifle, a Super Sledge, a combat knife, 8 frag grenades, and a laser pistol.

While I was busy searching the bodies, Colvin complimented me on my shooting. Sentinal Lyons was telling the people in the building that it was all clear, and Reddin and Vargas were celebrating. I didn't catch the first few words of the conversation, but Reddin replied victoriously, "The Brotherhood needs me and you know it." She lifted her rifle into the air and shot a few times, and Vargas told her to cut it out, to which she replied, "Aw, come on. We just kicked their asses!"

He said it may not be safe yet and told her to check side of the plaza east from me, near some overturned buses. Shortly afterwards, we heard continuous booming sounds and thundering footsteps behind the buses. _What the hell is_ that? I thought, then all of the Brotherhood members started freaking out, and Paladin Vargas yelled, "Reddin, get out of there!" She looked to him then looked at the buses. But she didn't have time to say anything before the buses exploded. I gasped, knowing that Reddin was instantly killed; I couldn't even tell where her body went. Vargas was sent flying backwards as well; he was knocked out, but I could tell he was still alive. I looked back to the nonexistent buses and saw-

_A GIANT FUCKING SUPER MUTANT!__ WHAT THE HELL _IS _THAT THING?! _I got my answer as Sentinaly Lyons yelled, "Behemoth!" A Super Mutant Behemoth- a Super Mutant the size of a freaking building! Or at least a small building, but it was still huge! As the other Brotherhood members took cover, Sarah shouted to me, "Get the Fat Man, hurry! We'll try to keep him busy!" _What the hell's a Fat Man?! _Obviously, it was some kind of weapon to be able to take down the Behemoth, but where would it be? I really couldn't pay attention, what with the Behemoth wielding a gigantic Super Sledge and demolishing and crushing and smashing everything in sight! I scanned the area, running around and searching frantically for the weapon. The Brotherhood members were doing a good job at getting its attention, but it didn't seem like they'd last longer as the Behemoth plowed through the plaza, throwing metal and stone everywhere as it continued destroying everything in sight. I suddenly saw a dead Brotherhood knight in the middle of the plaza, and next to him was what looked almost like a missile launcher, but not quite. And with very different ammo; ammo that looked like mini-nukes! _The Fat Man! _I was momentarily proud of myself for having found it, but that was short lived as the rest of the Brotherhood members were knocked on their asses from the Behemoth's destruction, and I realized I had no time left.

Knowing that I, and everyone else, would die if I wasted one more second, I ran for the the Fat Man, tripping onto my knees as I grabbed it. The Behemoth came running towards me, and absolutely cowaring inside, I rolled onto my shoulder, shot the Fat Man in the Behemoth's direction, and pulled the trigger.

The mini-nuke shot towards the Behemoth, but I'd put no effort in aiming. So it only exploded at its legs, leaving behind a large irradiated mushroom cloud of smoke and fire. Still, the Behemoth suffered a great deal of damage from it. It sunk to its knees and fell onto its face. I could barely believe it, but I knew it wasn't dead. So I stood back a little further and shot one more nuke directly at its head even as it started getting back up. It's head exploded into a giant smoke cloud of fire and blood, and I knew it had obviously been killed. But even as the mini mushroom cloud still lingered in the air, I couldn't help but think, _That's exactly what Mister Burke wants me to do to Megaton._

Sarah Lyons walked toward me as we were all still catching our breaths from depleted energy and the absolute over-stimulation of the battle. "I guess it's my turn thank _you_. Anyway, you're free to go inside and talk to Three Dog now."

Amazed by how well these guys could handle themselves, I commented, "Wow, you guys don't screw around."

"I'll take that as a compliment. If _we_ don't stop the creatures from destrpying everyone and everything in the Wastelan, who will? The Brotherhood does its best. But sometimes it takes a little something...special. That's where the Lyons' Pride comes in. And maybe with enough training, you could join us someday."

I smiled and nodded. Then I noticed that Reddin's body was on the ground next to us. I bent down next to her body and took her holotag off her neck, handing it to Sentinal Lyons. "I'm sorry about Initiate Reddin."

She took the holotag. "She died well. In the end, that's all that really matters. We will let it be known that _Paladin_ Reddin passed her test."

I nodded again, and Sarah and I said our goodbyes. I walked up the stairs to the building and went through the doors of GNR studios.

Some Brotherhood knights were in there waiting for me, and told me that Three Dog was waiting for me. Then they went back to already talking about the fight with the Behemoth. _News gets around fast out here, huh?_ I could only guess that Three Dog knew I was coming because some of the Brotherhood guys saw the number 101 on my back and told Three Dog about it. I walked up the stairs to where he was probably broadcasting, and saw him sitting in a chair near a bunch of DJ equipment and talking into a microphone. _Whoa, this is actually him, _I thought, as he spoke.

"Hey everybody, you're listening to Galaxy News Radio! This is Three Dog, your friendly neighborhood disc jockey! What's a disc? Hell if _I_ know! But I'm gonna keep talkin' anyway! Here's some of the latest news." I continued to keep silent, and grinned as I listened to him broadcast. He continued, "The boys and girls of the Brotherhood of Steel continue to fight the Good Fight, folks. They've recently stepped up patrol in the downtown D.C. ruins in response to increased sightings of everybody's favorite freaks: the Super Mutants. Without our buddies from the Brotherhood, I'm guessing the entire Capital Wasteland would've been overrun a long time ago. So if you see a knight or a paladin out there fighting your battles for you, give 'em a big thanks. Or even better, some ammo. Thanks for listening, children! This is Three Dog!" He made a cool howling noise and continued confidently and cooly," And you're listening to Galaxy News Radio! We're radio free Wasteland, and we're here for _you_. Now, some music." He started playing a Billie Holiday song, then turned his chair toward me and got up.

"Well, well, well! Look who it is."

* * *

**Well, that was chapter 4. Hope you enjoyed, I don't own anything, blah blah blah. Finally got over my writer's block long enough to type it, so hope you like it. Next chapter is finally going to be the climax of this story, where Xodia finally...you know what, you'll just have to find out yourself. Until next time! :D**


End file.
